naps on mom.

being laid down would not suffice for napping yesterday, as mommy was the preferred mattress.

i am okay with that, little guy.  you just keep that up, as long as you still sleep through the night in your own bed ;) 

photo shoot with dad.

little man, we did a photo shoot with your daddy yesterday. he was home from an appointment at the base nearby and i wanted some photos of the two of you in his uniform - thankfully you were in a good mood and felt up to the task!  i am so proud that we're a military family.  it comes with a lot of sacrifices, buster, but it's well worth it.  the pride & patriotism i feel is overwhelming, when i see him in his uniform serving our family & country.  he stands for what is right, for justice and for freedom and feels passionately about protecting what is ours.  even for people he doesn't know, and more so now that you're here.  i hope you follow in his footsteps and join him in the ranks some day.  he will probably still be there to welcome you in.

 (sorry about your forehead scratch bubba - mommy fail.  those dang buttons on your outfit dug in as i was undressing you.  after your second diaper explosion of the day!)

happiness in the morning.

this is my absolute favorite way to start the day.  peering over his crib and seeing his face recognize me and grin.  best feeling in the world, and more satisfying first thing in the morning than a cup of coffee!

playdates.

we spend a lot of time these days with the huntington babies.  it's so much fun to have babies the same age, and to have friend houses that are also baby-friendly with places to lay them and change them and nap them!

cora and brady seem to like hanging out on her monkey mat together and eliot is always up for baby entertaining.  he's a good big brother to both of them, and almost always wants to hold "baby brady" :)

jen and i also love to walk them around the neighborhood in strollers, solving all the world's (and our own) problems!!

where's brady?

it's like a game of where's waldo!

there he is!  little snuggle monster!

favorite parts of you.

just so i remember my favorite parts of you at two & a half months:

your grin, the way you crinkle your eyes, and your neck rolls.  oh, and that chin!!

how your fingers and hands are constantly moving now.  your hands are especially active when you're eating.  and i love your little knuckle dimples.  and even the fuzz between your fingers that i pry open to clean every day.

your sweet grippy toes!  i love how you still have the reflex that reminds me of monkey toes.  and those thigh rolls you're starting to get!!

a chapter closed.

the last of my frozen milk supply was used up on august 12 and we started supplementing bubba with formula.  he took to it like a champ and i am still able to nurse him some and pump often throughout the day.

i was a little sad at first to stop exclusively breastfeeding - til my sister reminded me that my job as a mommy is to "do what you have to do to keep him healthy, it's not a shortcoming of yours that you don't make enough milk."  THANK YOU LIZ.  we're all a lot happier now that he's content after feeds and gaining weight.

uncle charlie.

uncle charlie was the only one in my immediate family who hadn't met brady yet (his trip to colorado is next month!) - and he wasted no time rushing to my mom's office to meet him after work our first day in town.  i think he really likes the little baby :)

checking him out!

this is how charlie & brady spent every evening right before bed.  i'd get little man all changed & fed & swaddled and he would fall asleep on charlie's chest while charlie watched tv.  it was really sweet!!

explosion.

this was a very exciting experience for us - haha!

as i sat at a stoplight last week in columbia, on my way to meet my aunts ellen & sarah, little buster started squawking in the backseat.  i stuck my arm back to retrieve his binky which falls down the side of the carseat, and stuck my fingers into something wet.  IT WAS POOP.  we rushed to ellen's office and i was horrified when i pulled the carseat out to assess the situation.  he was sitting in a lake of it.

the clean-up was lengthy, smelly & really overall nasty.  but we got some cackling laughter out of it!  (ours, not his - he was not amused)  poor little mister.  and poor mama with poop under her fingernails.

welcome to my new life.

it's a first!

first ever auction.  first of many, my sweetness.  you're a price baby, afterall.

i think papa was happy to show you off to the crowd :)